The mission of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center is to provide the organizational infrastructure and the resources to promote interdisciplinary laboratory, clinical and population based cancer research and to facilitate the application of the research to cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment, especially for patients in the tri- state region (Norther New Jersey, South Eastern New York and Southwestern Connecticut) served by the Cancer Center. Furthermore the Cancer Center provides education and training in cancer research for scientists, clinical investigators and health professionals at all levels as well as for patients and the lay community. These objectives are facilitated by an organizational structure that has 4 major divisions: 1) Laboratory Research; 2) Clinical Research; 3) Cancer Causation, Prevention, and Control and 4) Core Facilities. Essential support is provided by the Office of Administration and a Visiting Scientific Advisory Committee. Fields of research are organized into a total of 11 Programs that facilitate research within a given discipline and foster interdisciplinary collaboration. A major function of this grant is to support a series of 14 shared core facilities that provide state-of- the-art expertise, technology and resources with considerable efficiency and cost savings. A specific emphasis of this Cancer Center, and a unifying theme that joins together this interdisciplinary research approach, is the use of concepts and methods in cellular and molecular biology to enhance our understanding of the etiology and pathophysiology of human cancer, and to develop more effective strategies for cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.